Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (60 page)

NOTE

The Amplified Bible.
Translated by France Siewert, this resource “amplifies” the message of the biblical texts by giving several synonyms for the major words, so that the various shades of meaning can be seen.

The Contemporary English Version
(
CEV
). Produced in 1995 by the American Bible Society, the CEV is a translation, not a paraphrase, produced in common English language. It is especially a strong version for younger readers and those for whom English is a second language.

The Cotton Patch Version of Luke and Acts
and
The Cotton Patch Version of Paul’s Epistles.
In the late ’60s, Clarence Jordan of Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, produced these lively paraphrases because, he said, “we need to have the good news come to us not only in our own tongue but in our own time.” By giving a “Southern drawl” to these New Testament texts, Jordan enables the reader to feel personally involved. Read these if you want a fresh perspective.

The English Standard Version
(
ESV
). This version, endorsed by several conservative Christian leaders, provides an “essentially literal” yet literarily graceful translation. Popular among those in Reformed traditions, this version draws from its predecessor, the Revised Standard Version. Excellent for both personal study and public reading.

The Good News Bible: Today’s English Version.
This translation of the United Bible Societies “seeks to state clearly and accurately the meaning of the original texts in words and forms that are widely accepted by people who use English as a means of communication.” It’s a good version to use for reading long passages of narrative, though not as useful for intensive analysis of individual verses and words. A good Bible for young people and those for whom English is a second language.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible
(
HCSB
). Holman Bible Publishers, the oldest Bible publisher in America, assembled an international, inter-denominational team of a hundred scholars, editors, stylists, and proofreaders, all of whom were committed to biblical inerrancy, to provide a Bible based on an “optimal equivalence” style of translation. Very popular within the Southern Baptist denomination, the HCSB offers another modern translation in clear English that includes a more literal approach.

The King James Version
(
KJV
). The classic translation of 1611, this is also known as The Authorized Version, though it was never formally authorized by any ecclesiastical body. The KJV has a richness of language that is hard to beat, especially in the psalms.

The Life Application Bible.
One of the most popular study Bibles available, the
Life Application Bible
combines insightful scholarship with relevant application for the everyday reader. With helpful book introductions and reference resources, students will obtain an everyday person’s perspective for top-level communication.

The Living Bible.
This excellent and popular paraphrase came about when author Ken Taylor began rewriting portions of the Bible in a way that his children could understand. Like
The Good News Bible,
it uses simple, plain English and is good for overview and repeated reading.

The Message.
The Message
is Eugene Peterson’s unique paraphrase of Scripture, particularly insightful in the Psalms and Prophets. Available in several styles, it is intended as an introduction to the Bible for those without a Bible background or as a fresh rendition for those seeking a renewed perspective.

Nave’s Topical Bible.
Have you ever wished that you could read back-to-back all of the major passages on a topic? Orville Nave has reorganized the Bible in just that manner. He gives verses on more than 20,000 topics and subtopics, arranged alphabetically. This volume can be a timesaver.

The New American Standard Bible
(
NASB
). This is one of my favorites for a study Bible. It is one of the most accurate English translations, though for that reason it sounds a bit wooden in places. Excellent for the steps of Observation and Interpretation.

The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes.
Ken Taylor’s classic paraphrase puts Bible stories in language that young children can understand. It makes extensive use of a question-and-answer style of telling the story, so that children are engaged in the narrative. This colorful volume is a great way to get children started in the Word.

The New English Translation
(
NET
). As the Internet boom emerged, a group of the top evangelical seminary and college professors committed to provide an online Bible translation free of charge to the general public. With over 60,000 notes and extensive comments on ancient culture and language, the NET Bible provides a wealth of resources to the serious Bible student. Accessible at
www.bible.org.

The New International Version
(
NIV
). The product of a broad-based coalition of translators, the NIV aims at a marriage between accuracy and clarity. It is one of the more readable translations.

The New Life Version
(
NLV
). Available since 1969, it continues to be one of the most readable and most understandable Bibles without sacrificing accuracy. It is not a paraphrase, but basic English for those with reading difficulty or younger readers.

The New Living Translation
(
NLT
). In 1996, a broad range of evangelical scholars were gathered to provide an improved version of Ken Taylor’s
Living Bible.
The result has been an excellent translation based on the goal of setting out to render the message of the original texts of Scripture into clear, contemporary English.